Tag Archives: calligraphy

Meanwhile…..

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…..back in the real world I have bought myself a new camera. It is very fancy and has lots of bells and whistles; I have no clue how to use it. For photos on my blog I use my iPad because it’s very good at taking sharp pictures of small details, i.e. it’s very good for calligraphy and collage, but not so wonderful at distant views – poor zoom capability.

Anyhow, I am trying to learn Camera. I am calling it Camera because it’s on a par with learning a foreign language. It is fine if I leave it in Auto mode [as seen in my previous post – competent pics of a misty morning, and nice pic of Sid], but if I stray out of Auto mode the results aren’t so pretty….

Therefore during the month of October I will be mostly learning Camera; writing Christmas card addresses in my finest calligraphy; and trying to write a novel. I know crazy talk! Writing a novel has been an ambition of mine since I was a child, but I’ve never really taken it seriously – I have a habit of giving up once the going gets tough, or when I realise I’ve written 16,000 words of utter tosh. It doesn’t matter if it is tosh – it’s the journey that matters, and actually FINISHING SOMETHING PROPERLY. I get so cross with myself. I will have regrets if I don’t try. [All this talk of apocalypse focuses the mind]. I will also have regrets if I leave Christmas card addressing until mid-December [unless there is an apocalypse and then it won’t matter].

Last week I heard this tune on the radio – I thought it was something from the 1980’s – apparently not.

Though appropriate for the difficult times we are living through.

Next Week: Ms Scarlet falls asleep; her ink goes dry, and her keyboard remains silent.

Hot and Bothered

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It has been too hot to do anything other than to waft about in loose clothing opening and closing windows as per instructions via the BBC weather people. Open a window during the wrong part of the day [God forbid] and there is the threat of being turned into something resembling a dry roasted peanut, or such like. Anyhows, this week has been tropical in Devon, despite appearances….

But thankfully it is fresher and a lot less humid today.

I have a nagging thought that I’m supposed to be taking pictures of my garden for the Great Blogging Gardening Competition 2022. I am also supposed to be supplying Melanie with a picture of a tree, and of a secret path. I must remember to do these things.

I do have this picture of my very first family garden that I can’t resist publishing before Mr Devine’s big event….

I have no idea why my aunt is wearing heels to weed, nor why my mother saw fit to wear slippers to use the concrete roller thingy. This is the only time I’ve seen the concrete roller thingy in action – as a child I used to climb on it to try to see over the big fence at the end of the garden [not the same garden or big fence as in this pic]. I think this picture only serves to underline the eccentric nature of the Blue family – see what I had to grow up with!!!

Moving on, I have made a couple of collages, the first is for a calligraphy exchange…

using calligraphy scraps in art.

….and the second is not going anywhere….

collage-and-calligraphy

I have made a lot of collages, and most of them get sent away to far off climes, or just down the road, but I am going to keep this one. I will frame it, and I will make more in a similar vein. I have a big one planned that will break copyright laws. Tough. It’ll worth it.

Next week [or the week after?]: Scarlet makes merry with a scalpel and some gold leaf. And also takes more photos.

I am still here

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I have not been enjoying 2021, and I do not like August – I took against it in 2000, and that was that. To get myself through it I have been reading novels – trashy and otherwise – and relying on my superpower, which is being able to fall asleep on a sixpence.
AND, I have been wielding my nibs and playing with double sided tape – but I seem to have been too lazy to slap up any pics on my blog… so here goes….

Apologies if I have put these pics up before – I’m surprised that I haven’t.

Anyhow, here is a concise list of stuff that I HAVE enjoyed this August:-

Book of the month: The Appeal by Janice Hallett – Laugh out loud funny, my copy will be winging its way to a friend very soon.

TV series: The Morning Show [Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon] – Surprisingly addictive – worth watching for Aniston’s meltdown in the final episode if nothing else.

And finally….

Health tip of the month: The correct resting tongue position really, really, really matters if you have chronic TMJ disorder caused by clenching.

Oh….and Sunday Music….

Back!!!!

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The deed is done and I am home!! AND, I have dragged myself from the fainting chaise to bring you an exciting new post!!
Oh my goodness, that was a scary weekend!! What did I learn from my experience ‘teaching’ [crikey those guys knew more than me, who am I kidding?] via Zoom? I learnt quite a bit about what not to do with lighting – and that the silence of a crowd is the most baffling thing on earth. Anyhow, I did a bit of this….

copperplay-calligraphy

….and once I got over my nerves I think it went okay – I have had some very kind feedback on Instagram. As previously mentioned – calligraphers are notoriously nice. Would I do it again? Ha! Probably not. Why not, I hear you scream – because a) I’m actually not supposed to talk at length because of my jaw issues – hell, I am still struggling with chewing, talking is simply adding insult to the injury, and b) My flipping awful South East London accent.

I watched and listened to some of the recording made of me demonstrating calligraphy. To put it simply, there is a vast disparity between the voice I use in my head and the voice that comes out of my mouth. In my head all the vowels and consonants are present, I speak clearly, I could almost be a BBC presenter. In reality – the vowels are rounded, some are complete circles, and, well, there are a lot of consonants missing in action. Unbearable. With this in mind, I am flirting with the idea of becoming entirely text based and giving up speech forever. I will still speak to the dog though, because he can’t read. I will save my jaw for eating food.

On the plus side, I can do a pretty mean Kate Nash impersonation.

Jolly news, or just plain scary?

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You know how they say you should get out of your comfort zone every now and again? Well, at the end of February this is exactly what I will be doing. Erm…. I’m not sure how this happened, I blame the pandemic, BUT I have agreed to explain my calligraphy process to some lovely calligraphers via Zoom. Gulp. I know, crazy talk… I have been signed up by the European Pointed Pen Collective and details of my ‘course’ are HERE – soooo out of my comfort zone that it almost hurts! I’m sure I will be fine. Calligraphers are notoriously nice, AND THEY WILL forgive the squeaky voice, the peculiar accent, and hopefully for the hour they lose discussing where best to place a well turned tittle [tittle details are very important].

Anyhow, this is my big, scary news! What does this mean for my blog in February? Well I might put up some videos of me actually writing words, if WordPress is agreeable; and I might go missing in action for a bit as I will need to prepare; AND, I will probably also need some time on the fainting chaise with the smelling salts, or the gin, or the Diazepam….. IT WILL BE FINE – I am blind as a bat and can barely make out what the hell is going on on Zoom with or without my glasses! [This is a good thing]

So in February expect a bit more of this:-

calligraphy exchange

calligraphy exchange

Finally – Sunday Music!! I’ve chosen this, cos Jon gave me an ear worm.

Getting Better

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I bring pictures! I bring calligraphy! I bring tidings of joy! I bring a couple of heartfelt messages! I bring a toaster; a cuddly toy; a can of baked beans, and several vintage maps of Blackpool on a sunny afternoon. Never say I bring you nothing. But be aware that my hands are full.

Firstly, as promised, here are a couple of my Halloween collages:-

halloween-collage

collage for halloween exchange

And a little calligraphy:-

white-copperplate-variation-on red-envelope

My heartfelt messages:-

1) If you are a nighttime jaw clencher [bruxer] then NEVER EVER sleep on your back! Don’t even dream about it. It could possibly bring you no end of excruciatingly painful problems. And ruin your teeth.

2) Over the past two months I have become aware of some unusual activity in my blog stats, as in hits on old personal posts that rarely get read after they’ve been published and commented on. Posts featuring calligraphy are always popular, but the personal ones – not so much – years can go by before some poor soul alights on one of those, but recently they have been much sought after. At first I was flattered! Yay, somebody loves me! And then I stopped taking the drugs, and wondered if someone was profiling me for nefarious purposes? If so then please note that this blog is a minefield of misinformation, the truth is that I am 37 years old, I am French [hence the surname: Blue], and I live with five cats on an Alpaca farm somewhere near Newcastle. Just so you know.

3) If you are not profiling me for nefarious purposes and you are actually Aidan Turner, then don’t be a stranger – give me a call! My email address is right there!! There on the front page!!! Oh, for goodness sake HERE  – at the bottom of the page!

Shall we have some Sunday Music? Why not? I have just finished watching The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix and now want to download the soundtrack.